Titus Livius (Livy), Ab urbe condita, Benjamin Oliver Foster, Ph.D. (Editor), Frank Gardener Moore (Editor), Evan T. Sage, Ph.D. (Editor), Alfred C. Schlesinger, Ph.D. (Editor), 42.51

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[1] This conference was held at Pella, in the ancient palace of the Macedonians.

Let us, then,

said Perseus,

wage war, since this seems best, with the kindly help of the gods,

and sending dispatches to his officers he drew all his forces together at Citium, a city of Macedonia.

[2] He himself offered a sacrifice of one hundred victims in regal style to Minerva whom they call

Defender of the Folk,

¹ and set out for Citium with a band of wearers of the purple² and attendants.

[3] There all the forces of Macedonians and foreign auxiliaries had already assembled. He pitched camp before the city and drew up all the soldiers on the plain; the total of all was forty-three thousand under arms; about half of these were phalanx-men;³ Hippias of Beroea⁴ was their commander.

[4] Then there were two thousand chosen from all the force of light infantry⁵ for their strength and the vigour of their youth; this unit the Macedonians called the Guard;⁶ its commanders were Leonnatus and Thrasippus, Eulyestans.⁷

[5] The leader of the other light infantry, about three thousand men,⁸ was Antiphilus of Edessa. The Paeonians from the districts both of the Mountainside⁹ and of the Strymon Valley —these places march with Thrace — and the Agrianes,¹⁰ with an admixture, besides, of Thracian settlers, also supplied a contingent of nearly three thousand.

[6] Didas the Paeonian, who had killed young Demetrius,¹¹ had armed and mustered

[7] them. There were also two thousand Gauls¹² under arms; their commander was Asclepiodotus from Heraclea of the Sintians; three thousand free Thracians were under their own commander. About an equal number of Cretans followed native leaders, Susus of Phalasarnae and Syllus of

[8] Knossus. Leonides too, the Lacedaemonian, commanded five hundred from Greece, a mixed group of men. He was said to be of the royal blood, an exile, condemned by a full council of the Achaeans because of dispatches to Perseus which had been

[9] intercepted. Lycon the Achaean was commander of the Aetolians and Boeotians, who amounted in all to not more than five hundred. Of these auxiliaries, made up of so many peoples and tribes, the total under arms came to about twelve thousand. Of cavalry, the king had assembled three thousand from all

[10] Macedonia. To Citium had come Cotys,¹³ son of Seuthes, king of the tribe of the Odrysae, with one thousand picked cavalry and about an equal number of

[11] infantry. Thus the total of the whole army was thirty-nine thousand infantry and four thousand cavalry. It was generally agreed that, except for the army which Alexander the Great took¹⁴ over to Asia,¹⁵ never had the forces of any Macedonian king been so great.

Ab urbe condita. Titus Livius (Livy). Benjamin Oliver Foster, Ph.D. (Editor), Frank Gardener Moore (Editor), Evan T. Sage, Ph.D. (Editor), Alfred C. Schlesinger, Ph.D. (Editor). Medford, MA. .

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Funding provided by The National Endowment for the Humanities.

Current edition Perseus

History of Rome (English) (Foster, Benjamin Oliver; Moore, Frank Gardener; Sage, Evan T.; Schlesinger, Alfred C., translators. Cambridge, Mass.; London: Harvard University Press; William Heinemann, Ltd., 1919-1959. (Loeb Classical Library))

Editions (3)

Ab urbe condita Perseus (Pars I-IV, Libri I-XL. Editio Stereotypica. Weissenborn, Wilhelm; Mueller, Moritz, editors. Leipzig: Teubner, 1884-1911.) — 42.51 focus

[1] Pellae, in vetere regia Macedonum, hoc consilium erat. “geramus ergo” inquit, “dis bene iuvantibus, quando ita videtur, bellum;” litterisque circa praefectos dimissis, Citium — Macedoniae oppidum est —

[2] copias omnis contrahit. ipse centum hostiis sacrificio regaliter Minervae, quam vocant Alcidemon, facto cum purpuratorum et satellitum manu profectus Citium est. eo iam omnes Macedonum et externorum auxiliorum convenerant copiae.

[3] castra ante urbem ponit omnisque armatos in campo instruxit; summa omnium quadraginta tria milia armata fuere; quorum pars ferme dimidia phalangitae erant;

[4] Hippias Beroeaeus praeerat. delecta deinde et viribus et robore aetatis ex omni caetratorum numero duo milia erant: agema hanc ipsi legionem vocabant; praefectos habebat Leonnatum et Thrasippum Eulyestas.

[5] ceterorum caetratorum, trium ferme milium hominum, dux erat Antiphilus Edessaeus. Paeones et ex Paroria et Parastrymonia — sunt autem ea loca subiecta Thraciae — et Agrianes, admixtis etiam Threcibus incolis, trium milium ferme et ipsi expleverant numerum.

[6] armaverat contraxeratque eos Didas Paeon, qui adulescentem Demetrium occiderat.

[7] et armatorum duo milia Gallorum erant; praefectus Asclepiodotus ab Heraclea ex Sintis; tria milia Threcum liberorum suum ducem habebant. Cretensium par ferme numerus suos duces sequebatur. Susum Phalasarnaeum et Syllum Gnosium.

[8] et Leonides Lacedaemonius quingentis ex Graecia, mixto generi hominum, praeerat. regii is generis ferebatur, exul, damnatus frequenti concilio Achaeorum litteris ad Persea deprensis.

[9] Aetolorum et Boeotorum, qui non explebant plus quam quingentorum omnes numerum, Lyco Achaeus praefectus erat. ex his mixtis tot populorum, tot gentium auxiliis duodecim milia armatorum ferme efficiebantur.

[10] equitum ex tota Macedonia contraxerat tria milia. venerat eodem Cotys, Seuthis filius, rex gentis Odrysarum, cum mille delectis equitibus, pari ferme peditum numero.

[11] ita summa totius exercitus triginta novem milia peditum erant, quattuor equitum. satis constabat, secundum eum exercitum, quem magnus Alexander in Asiam traiecit, numquam ullius Macedonum regis copias tantas fuisse.

Ab urbe condita Perseus (Livy in Fourteen Volumes. Foster, Benjamin Oliver; Moore, Frank Gardener; Schlesinger, Alfred C., editors. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd., 1919-1959 (printing).) — 43.23 focus

[1]

Rex cum non ¹ minore vexatione iumentorum hominumque quam venerat in Macedoniam rediit; Appium tamen ab obsidione Phanotes fama ducentis ad Stratum Persei summovit.

[2] Cleuas cum praesidio impigrorum iuvenum insecutus sub radicibus prope inviis montium ² ad mille hominum ex agmine impedito occidit, ad ducentos cepit.

[3] Appius superatis angustiis in campo quem Meleona vocant stativa dierum paucorum habuit. interim Cleuas assumpto Philostrato, qui quingentos ex ³ Epirotarum gente habebat, in agrum Antigonensem transcendit. ⁴ Macedones ad depopulationem profecti;

[4] Philostratus⁵ cum cohorte sua in insidiis loco ⁶ obscuro consedit. in palatos populatores cum erupissent ab Antigonea armati, ⁷ fugientes eos persequentes effusius in vallem insessam ab hostibus praecipitant.

[5] ibi ad mille ⁸ occisis, centum ferme captis, et ubique prospere gesta re prope stativa Appi castra movent, ne qua vis sociis suis ab Romano exercitu inferri possit.

[6] Appius nequiquam in his locis terens tempus, dimissis Chaonum Thesprotorumque ⁹ et si qui alii Epirotae erant praesidiis, cum Italicis militibus in Illyricum regressus, per Parthinorum ¹⁰ socias urbes in hiberna militibus divisis, ¹¹ ipse Romam sacrificii causa redit.

[7] Perseus ex Penestarum gente mille pedites, ducentos equites revocatos Cassandream, praesidio ut essent, misit.

[8] Ab Gentio eadem adferentes redierunt. nec deinde alios atque alios mittendo temptare eum destitit, cum appareret, quantum in eo praesidii esset, nec tamen impetrare ab animo posset, ut impensam in rem maximi ad omnia momenti faceret.

Ab urbe condita libri, erklärt von M. Weissenborn Perseus (Weissenborn, W.; Müller, H. J., editors. Berlin: Weidmannsche Buchhandlung, 1873-1883.) — 42.51 focus

[1]

Pellae, in vetere regia Macedonum, hoc consilium erat. ¹ “geramus ergo” inquit, “dis bene iuvantibus, quando ita videtur, bellum;” litterisque circa praefectos dimissis Citium —

[2] Macedoniae oppidum est — copias omnis contrahit. ipse centum hostiis sacrificio regaliter Minervae, quam vocant Alcidemon, facto cum purpuratorum et satellitum manu profectus Citium est. eo iam omnes Macedonum et externorum auxiliorum convenerant copiae.

[3] castra ante urbem ponit omnisque armatos in campo struxit. summa omnium quadraginta tria milia armata fuere, quorum pars ferme dimidia phalangitae erant; Hippias Beroeaeus praeerat.

[4] delecta deinde et viribus et robore aetatis ex omni cetratorum numero duo milia erant; agema hanc ipsi legionem vocabant; praefectos habebat Leonnatum et Thrasippum Eulyestas.

[5] ceterorum cetratorum, trium ferme milium hominum, dux erat ² Antiphilus Edessaeus. Paeones et ex Paroria et Parstrymonia — sunt autem ea loca subiecta Thraciae — et Agrianes, admixtis etiam Threcibus incolis, trium milium ferme et ipsi expleverunt numerum.

[6] armaverat contraxeratque eos Didas Paeon, qui adulescentem Demetrium occiderat.

[7] et armatorum duo milia Gallorum erant, praefecto Asclepiodoto ab Heraclea ex Sintis. tria milia Threcum liberorum suum ducem habebant. Cretensium par paene numerus suos duces sequebatur, Susum Phalasarneum et Syllum Gnosium.

[8] et Leonides Lacedaemonius quingentis ex Graecia, mixto generi hominum, praeerat. regii is generis ferebatur, exul damnatus frequenti concilio Achaeorum, litteris ad Persea deprensis.

[10] venerat eodem Cotys, Seuthis filius, rex gentis Odrysarum, cum mille dilectis equitibus, pari ³ ferme peditum numero.

[11] ita summa totius exercitus undequadraginta milia peditum erant, quattuor equitum. satis constabat, secundum eum exercitum, quem magnus Alexander in Asiam traiecit, numquam ullius Macedonum regis copias tantas fuisse.

Translations (2)

History of Rome Perseus (Spillan, D.; Edmonds, Cyrus; McDevitte, William A., translators. London: Henry G. Bohn, 1849-1868. (Bohn's Classical Library)) — 42.51 focus

[1]

The council was held at Pella, in the old palace of the Macedonian kings.

Let us then,

Perseus said,

with the help of the gods, wage war, since that is your opinion;

and, despatching letters to all the commanders of the troops, he concentrated his entire force at Cytium, a town of Macedon.

[2] He himself, after making a royal offering of one hundred victims, which he sacrificed to Minerva, called Alcidemos, set out for Cytium, attended by a band of nobles and guards.

[3] All the forces, both of the Macedonians and foreign auxiliaries, had already assembled in that place. He encamped them before the city, and drew them all up, under arms, in order of battle, in a plain.

[4] The amount of the whole was forty-three thousand armed men; of whom about one half composed the phalanx, and were commanded by Hippias of Berœa; there were then two thousand selected for their superior strength, and the vigour of their age, out of the whole number of their shield-bearers: this legion they called, in their own language, Agema, and the command of them was given to Leonatus and Thrasippus of Eulyea.

[5] Antiphilus of Edessa commanded the rest of the shield-bearers, about three thousand men. Paeonians, and men from Parorea and Parstrymonia, (places subject to Thrace,) with Agrians, and a mixture of some native Thracians, made up the number of about three thousand men.

[6] Didas, the Paeonian, the murderer of young Demetrius, had armed and embodied these.

[7] There were two thousand Gallic soldiers, under the command of Asclepiodotus; three thousand independent Thracians, from Heraclea, in the country of the Sintians, had a general of their own. An equal number nearly of Cretans followed their own general, Susus of Phalasarna, and Syllus of Gnossus.

[8] Leonidas, a Lacedaemonian, commanded a body of five hundred Greeks, of various descriptions: this man was said to be of the royal blood, and had been condemned to exile in a full council of the Achaeans on account of a letter to Perseus, which was intercepted.

[9] Lycho, an Achaean, was the commander of the Aetolians and Bœotians, who did not make up more than the number of five hundred men. These auxiliaries, composed of so many states and so many nations, made up about twelve thousand fighting men.

[10] Of cavalry, he had collected from all parts of Macedon, three thousand: and Cotys, son of Seutha, king of the Odrysian nation, was arrived with one thousand chosen horse- men, and nearly the same number of foot.

[11] The total number was thirty-nine thousand foot, and four thousand horse. Most certainly, since the army which Alexander the Great led into Asia, no king of Macedonia had ever been at the head of so powerful a force.

History of Rome Perseus (Volumes 1-2. Roberts, Canon, Rev, translator. London, New York: J. M. Dent and Sons; E. P. Dutton and Co., 1912.) — 42.51 focus

[1]

This council was held at Pella, the capital of Macedonia. "Let us then," said Perseus, "wage war with the help of the gods, since thus you decide."

[2] Written orders were despatched to all his generals and he assembled the whole of his forces at Citium, a town in Macedonia. After sacrificing in regal style one hundred victims to Minerva, whom they call Alcidemos, he set out for Citium, accompanied by a number of court nobles and his bodyguard.

[3] The whole of the army, both Macedonians and auxiliaries, were assembled there. The camp was fixed in front of the city and he drew up all his soldiers in the plain.

[4] The total number of those who bore arms was 43,000, nearly half of whom formed the phalanx; Hippias of Beroea was in command. Out of the whole force of caetrati, 2000 men in the prime of strength and manhood were selected to form a body known as the "agema," their commanders were Leonnatus and Thrasippus.

[5] Antiphilus of Edessa was in command of the rest of the caetrati, numbering about 3000 men. The Paeonians and the contingents from Paroria and Parstrymonia, places in the lowlands of Thrace, and the Agrianes, including some Thracian immigrants, made up a force of about 3000. They had been armed and

[6] mustered by Didas the Paeonian, the murderer of the young Demetrius.

[7] There were also 2000 Gauls under Asclepiodotus, a native of Heraclea in Sintice. Three thousand "free" Thracians had their own leader, and about the same number of Cretans followed their own generals, Susus of Phalasarna and Syllus of Gnossus. Leonides the Lacedaemonian was at the head of a mixed force of Greeks.

[8] He was said to be of royal blood, and after his letter to Perseus had been seized, had been sentenced to banishment in a full council of the Achaeans.

[9] The Aetolians and Boeotians, who, all told, did not amount to more than 500 men, were under the command of Lyco, an Achaean. Out of these contingents drawn from so many people and tribes, a force of about 12,000 men was formed. Perseus had collected 3000 cavalry out of the whole of Macedonia.

[10] Cotys, the son of Suthis and king of the Odrysae, had come in with a picked force of 1000 horse and about the same number of infantry.

[11] Thus the total number of the army was 39,000 infantry and 4000 cavalry. It was generally admitted that, next to the army which Alexander the Great had led into Asia, no Macedonian king had ever possessed so large a force.

Notes on the current edition

Ab Urbe Condita With An English Translation, books 1-10, 21-45, with periochae 11-20

1. The form usually assigned in the Latin to this title of Athena is Alcis, not Alcidemos.

2. I.e., nobles attendant on the king, cf. XXX. xlii. 6, XXXI. xxxv. 1, XXXVII, xxiii. 7, lix. 5.

3. Cf. XXXVI. xviii. 2, XXXVII. xl. 1.

4. This town was of importance, notably in Christian times, and through the Middle Ages. Its name survives in the form Verria in modern Greek, Berea in English.

5. For caetrati cf. XXXI. xxxvi. 1 and the note, also XXVIII. v. 11. These

peltasts

(the Greek term) first came into use in the Peloponnesian War, and were made important by Iphicrates of Athens early in the fourth century; they were conspicuous, as here, in the army of Alexander the Great. They were armed with helmet, shield, long spear and sword.

6. Cf. Polybius V. 65.2, 84. 7; Arrian, Anabasis, II 8.3, III. 11. 9.

7. The name of this people is not found elsewhere, and is probably corrupt. Weissenborn conjectures Elymiotas, or Lyncestas.

8. B.C. 171

9. Cf. XXXIX. xxvii. 10.

10. Regular auxiliaries of the Macedonians, cf. XXVIII. v. 12, XXXIII. xviii. 9, Arrian, I. 1. 11, etc.

11. Cf. XL. xxii. 15 —xxiv; Didas was governor of Paeonia.

12. Either from Asia Minor, or, more probably, from Pannonia (northern Jugoslavia).

13. Cf. above xxix. 12 and the note.

14. B.C. 171

15. Livy's estimate of Alexander's available strength in IX. xix. 5 was not so large. Arrian, Anabasis I. 11. 3 gives Alexander an original strength of somewhat over 35000. corresponding with Livy IX.

Titus Livius (Livy) Ab urbe condita 42.51

Benjamin Oliver Foster, Ph.D. (Editor), Frank Gardener Moore (Editor), Evan T. Sage, Ph.D. (Editor), Alfred C. Schlesinger, Ph.D. (Editor)

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